It had a good review from Oscar Hijuelos (LOVE) on the front cover, so I decided to go for it.

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She's touring the facility/and picking up slack.--"For in much wisdom is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow." Ecclesiastes 1:18--I once believed in causes too, I had my pointless point of view --Life went on no matter who was wrong or right

I am reading a book by Igor Bunich (1937-2004), titled, "The Gold of the Party" ("Zoloto Partii," in Russian). A thorough investigation of the "financial side" of the Communist Party of the USSR, including its connections with various international banks and corporations. I am almost done with this book, and it becomes even more interesting and intriguing towards the end. I especially enjoyed the author's psychological portraits of Yuriy Andropov and Mikhail Gorbachev.

I know this is basic, but I want to post about it to share my joy -- I finished reading St. Seraphim of Sarov's "On Acquisition of the Holy Spirit."

I've gotten so off track with my studies , being caught up with practical church issues, but I pray that with this fast that I can get back on track with my prayer rule and reading, in addition to working with my priest, godparents, and other church activities.

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She's touring the facility/and picking up slack.--"For in much wisdom is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow." Ecclesiastes 1:18--I once believed in causes too, I had my pointless point of view --Life went on no matter who was wrong or right

I know this is basic, but I want to post about it to share my joy -- I finished reading St. Seraphim of Sarov's "On Acquisition of the Holy Spirit."

I've gotten so off track with my studies , being caught up with practical church issues, but I pray that with this fast that I can get back on track with my prayer rule and reading, in addition to working with my priest, godparents, and other church activities.

Good! I know how you feel though. I considered it a personal triumph when I finished St. Innocent's Way into the Kingdom of Heaven even though it's just a pamphlet. Baby steps.

I know this is basic, but I want to post about it to share my joy -- I finished reading St. Seraphim of Sarov's "On Acquisition of the Holy Spirit."

I've gotten so off track with my studies , being caught up with practical church issues, but I pray that with this fast that I can get back on track with my prayer rule and reading, in addition to working with my priest, godparents, and other church activities.

Kalila and Dimna: Fables of Friendship and Betrayal retold by Ramsay Wood

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But it had not been in Tess's power - nor is it in anybody's power - to feel the whole truth of golden opinions while it is possible to profit by them. She - and how many more - might have ironically said to God with Saint Augustine, "Thou hast counselled a better course than thou hast permitted."

Was at a buddy's house and picked up a couple books from him. This is one:

The Saint who scandalized a younger Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh by drinking beer and smoking openly in her monastic robes while unbeknownst to him dying daily giving her life to save others.

Been "avoiding" her. As I say, I ain't into holopr0n. I heard one version of life read in the parish and I could barely "keep it together". She was the real deal.

How her life ended depresses the hell out of me and I how she lived it depresses the hell out of me. Saw this at my buddy's and figured it was time to read a Saint whose life in an unfortunate way touches mine.

When the Jews in occupied lands had to wear the Star of David and other Christians said it wasn't a Christian problem, she said:

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There is no such thing as a Christian Problem. Don't you realize that the battle is being waged against Christianity? If we were true Christians, we would all wear the Star. The age of Confessors has come.

For that one line alone: There is no such thing as a "Christian" Problem. She reminds us of our fundamental calling.

Neatly and frighteningly summing up the Christian life:

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The way to God lies through love of people. At the Last Judgment I shall not be asked whether I was successful in my ascetic exercises, nor how many bows and prostrations I made. Instead I shall be asked, Did I feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and the prisoners. That is all I shall be asked. About every poor, hungry and imprisoned person the Savior says ‘I’: ‘I was hungry and thirsty, I was sick and in prison.’ To think that he puts an equal sign between himself and anyone in need. . . . I always knew it, but now it has somehow penetrated to my sinews. It fills me with awe.

When the edict came down for Jews to have to wear the Star, she wrote a poem:

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Israel

Two triangles, a star,The shield of King David, our forefather.This is election, not offense.The great path and not an evil.

Once more in a term fulfilled,Once more roars the trumpet of the end;And the fate of a great peopleOnce more is by the prophet proclaimed.Thou art persecuted again, O Israel,But what can human malice mean to thee,who have heard the thunder from Sinai?

"What can human malice mean to thee, who have heard the thunder from Sinai?"

Indeed, how much less can human malice mean to we, who claim to have heard the groans from Calvary?

Flannery O'Connor is great. Get the film Wise Blood. It is fantastic. And you get see one of America's greatest character actors as a young man play a protagonist, Brad Dourif.

Will do. Thanks.

And I'm really enjoying Pelikan.

Flannery O'Connor is the Queen of Southern Writers, IMO. My parents are from her hometown of Milledgeville, GA, and my grandmother knew Ms. Oconnor quite well. It's just too bad that most literature professors fail to recognize the profound Christian symbolism in her writing. This makes me want to revisit some of her works. Thanks.

Selam

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"God is a consuming fire. And His fire is love."+ Gebre Menfes Kidus +

"Brandwashed: Tricks Companies Use to Manipulate Our Minds and Persuade Us to Buy" by Martin Lindstrom.

I knew about some of the tricks (baked potato chips in matte bags versus shiny bags), but reading about some of these experiments...yikes. Makes me not want to purchase anything anymore, although then again, I purchased the book!

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She's touring the facility/and picking up slack.--"For in much wisdom is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow." Ecclesiastes 1:18--I once believed in causes too, I had my pointless point of view --Life went on no matter who was wrong or right

Flannery O'Connor is great. Get the film Wise Blood. It is fantastic. And you get see one of America's greatest character actors as a young man play a protagonist, Brad Dourif.

Will do. Thanks.

And I'm really enjoying Pelikan.

Flannery O'Connor is the Queen of Southern Writers, IMO. My parents are from her hometown of Milledgeville, GA, and my grandmother knew Ms. Oconnor quite well. It's just too bad that most literature professors fail to recognize the profound Christian symbolism in her writing. This makes me want to revisit some of her works. Thanks.

"Brandwashed: Tricks Companies Use to Manipulate Our Minds and Persuade Us to Buy" by Martin Lindstrom.

I knew about some of the tricks (baked potato chips in matte bags versus shiny bags), but reading about some of these experiments...yikes. Makes me not want to purchase anything anymore, although then again, I purchased the book!

If you only really knew . . . I mean seriously.

I often wonder if I have any soul left after sitting through some of the stuff I've had to listen to. Or taken part in doing.

"Brandwashed: Tricks Companies Use to Manipulate Our Minds and Persuade Us to Buy" by Martin Lindstrom.

I knew about some of the tricks (baked potato chips in matte bags versus shiny bags), but reading about some of these experiments...yikes. Makes me not want to purchase anything anymore, although then again, I purchased the book!

If you only really knew . . . I mean seriously.

I often wonder if I have any soul left after sitting through some of the stuff I've had to listen to. Or taken part in doing.

All for the joy of scraping by in life.

I found an old order once. There was a note in the margin: "There is a new manufacturer for this part and the price has dropped considerably. I don't want the customer coming back and asking why they were charged so much back then and it is so low now. See you all in hell."

And Orthonorm, again, another chapter to your memoir...you need to chop-chop on that so I can add it to my reading list.

BTW, a rec here. I have a few more pages to go, but the aforementioned poster said something about "The Paradox of Choice" by Barry Schwartz. Another good book related to the psychology of choice and how we may have too much choice in our society today...I wholeheartedly agree and reading the book is making me more and more depressed.

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She's touring the facility/and picking up slack.--"For in much wisdom is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow." Ecclesiastes 1:18--I once believed in causes too, I had my pointless point of view --Life went on no matter who was wrong or right

"Brandwashed: Tricks Companies Use to Manipulate Our Minds and Persuade Us to Buy" by Martin Lindstrom.

I knew about some of the tricks (baked potato chips in matte bags versus shiny bags), but reading about some of these experiments...yikes. Makes me not want to purchase anything anymore, although then again, I purchased the book!

If you only really knew . . . I mean seriously.

I often wonder if I have any soul left after sitting through some of the stuff I've had to listen to. Or taken part in doing.

All for the joy of scraping by in life.

I found an old order once. There was a note in the margin: "There is a new manufacturer for this part and the price has dropped considerably. I don't want the customer coming back and asking why they were charged so much back then and it is so low now. See you all in hell."

The Hunger Games. The bestie suckered me into it. And now the books have taken over my life; I feel like everything is on hold until I can finish them. & I'm on the last one with 200 pages left to go andit's2AMandIhaveworkin5hoursbutIdon'twanttostop. Dangit.

Still trying to gnaw down Augustine's Confessions. In bits and pieces- going on like 4-6 months, I think. Idk. Lost count.

The Hunger Games. The bestie suckered me into it. And now the books have taken over my life; I feel like everything is on hold until I can finish them. & I'm on the last one with 200 pages left to go andit's2AMandIhaveworkin5hoursbutIdon'twanttostop. Dangit.

Still trying to gnaw down Augustine's Confessions. In bits and pieces- going on like 4-6 months, I think. Idk. Lost count.

What time did you go to sleep!

Have been there, though! With both wanting to read until 4 or 5 AM and trying to get through Augustine! Ha. Sometimes it isn't good for me to go on reading for that long, because I'm tired, and then the words just kind of mush together after some point. I finished Lisa See's "Shanghai Girls" that way, and to be honest, I can't really remember the second half of the book too well.

But I just HAD to know the ending.

Ah, well, I learned my lesson.

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She's touring the facility/and picking up slack.--"For in much wisdom is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow." Ecclesiastes 1:18--I once believed in causes too, I had my pointless point of view --Life went on no matter who was wrong or right

The Hunger Games. The bestie suckered me into it. And now the books have taken over my life; I feel like everything is on hold until I can finish them. & I'm on the last one with 200 pages left to go andit's2AMandIhaveworkin5hoursbutIdon'twanttostop. Dangit.

Still trying to gnaw down Augustine's Confessions. In bits and pieces- going on like 4-6 months, I think. Idk. Lost count.

What time did you go to sleep!

Have been there, though! With both wanting to read until 4 or 5 AM and trying to get through Augustine! Ha. Sometimes it isn't good for me to go on reading for that long, because I'm tired, and then the words just kind of mush together after some point. I finished Lisa See's "Shanghai Girls" that way, and to be honest, I can't really remember the second half of the book too well.

But I just HAD to know the ending.

Ah, well, I learned my lesson.

I forced myself to let go and I went to bed at 3 AM. I've just finished the book (and thus the trilogy). THERE ARE NO WORDS TO DESCRIBE HOW GLORIOUS....

I think I'll keep dragging Augustine out for a while. The 5-10 minutes at a time that I can stand always seems to parellel my life not long after I've read it... but maybe that's just me.

If you will, you can become all flame.Extra caritatem nulla salus.In order to become whole, take the "I" out of "holiness". सर्वभूतहितἌνω σχῶμεν τὰς καρδίας"Those who say religion has nothing to do with politics do not know what religion is." -- Mohandas GandhiY dduw bo'r diolch.

This does not mean that the theological exposition of dogmas must take an unalterable form. Each epoch puts forth its own views, ways of understanding, questions, heresies and protests against Christian truth, or else repeats ancient ones which had been forgotten. Theology naturally takes into consideration the inquiries of each age, answers them, and sets forth the dogmatic truths accordingly. In this sense, one may speak about the development of dogmatic theology as a branch of learning. But there are no sufficient grounds for speaking about the development of the Christian teaching of faith itself.

This does not mean that the theological exposition of dogmas must take an unalterable form. Each epoch puts forth its own views, ways of understanding, questions, heresies and protests against Christian truth, or else repeats ancient ones which had been forgotten. Theology naturally takes into consideration the inquiries of each age, answers them, and sets forth the dogmatic truths accordingly. In this sense, one may speak about the development of dogmatic theology as a branch of learning. But there are no sufficient grounds for speaking about the development of the Christian teaching of faith itself.

Can you please provide a citation for your quote? Within the next 24 hours would be fantastic. thank you!

This does not mean that the theological exposition of dogmas must take an unalterable form. Each epoch puts forth its own views, ways of understanding, questions, heresies and protests against Christian truth, or else repeats ancient ones which had been forgotten. Theology naturally takes into consideration the inquiries of each age, answers them, and sets forth the dogmatic truths accordingly. In this sense, one may speak about the development of dogmatic theology as a branch of learning. But there are no sufficient grounds for speaking about the development of the Christian teaching of faith itself.

Can you please provide a citation for your quote? Within the next 24 hours would be fantastic. thank you!

Meir Shalev: My Russian Grandmother and Her American Vacuum Cleaner: A Family Memoir

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She's touring the facility/and picking up slack.--"For in much wisdom is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow." Ecclesiastes 1:18--I once believed in causes too, I had my pointless point of view --Life went on no matter who was wrong or right